Charles b



(No Model.)

C. '13.'SOIJIWEIKARTI RBPEATING AGTION FOR PIANOS.

NO. 591,887. Patented Oct. 19,189'7.

W z 1,. W,

Z v, I w Q4 W UNi'rnD STATES PATENT Chrisa.

CHARLES B. SCHVEIKART, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-TI-IIRD TO J OSEPH P. SCANLAN, OF SAME PLACE.

REPEATING ACTION FOR PIANOS.

SIPECIFICATIO forming part of Letters Patent No. 591,887, dated October 19, 1897.

I Application file March 8,1897. Serial No, 626,352. (No model.)

T0 all whom, it may concerto.-

Be it known that I, CHARLES B. SCHWEI- KART, a citizen of the United States, residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Repeating Actions for Pianos, of which the following' is a specification.

This invention relates to improvements in piano-aotions; and it consists'in certain peculiarities of the construction, novel arrangement, and operation of the various parts thereof, as will be hereinafter more fully set forth and specifically claimed.

The objects of my invention are, first,'to provide a piano-action which shall be simple and inexpensive in construction, strong, durable, and effective in operation; and, second, such an action in which, by reason of the peculiar construction and arrangement of its parts, a repetition of the stroke of the hammer against the string' may be attained, without the necessity of the full Vertical movement of the key, which is required in actions of the ordinary construction and those now in general use.

In order to enable others skilled in the art to which my invention pertains to make and use the same, I will now proceed to describe it, referring to the accompanying drawings, in which-a Figure lis a view, partly in section and partly in elevation, of my improved action, showing` its parts in their normal position. Fig. 2 is a similar view showing,` the parts in the position they will occupy just after the string has been struck by the hammer, and Fig. 3 is a similar view showing the parts in position to repeat the stroke.

Similar letters refer to like parts throughout the different views of the drawings.

A represents the piano-key, which may be of the ordinary or any preferred construction, and as usual is secured on a balance-rail A', by means of a pin a, and is shielded from the keyboard A2 at its ends by means of pieces of felt a', or other suitable material. The inner portion of the' key is provided with leads az, or weigh ts, to normally hold said portion in a lowered position, and its inner end is provided in its upper surface with a recess as, in which is vertically secured a regulating-sorew a4, to act on the repeater B, as will be presently explained.

To the inner surface of the keyboard (02 is vertically adj ustably secured, by means of a 'screw b, an upright or standard b', to the upper portion of which is pivotally secured the repeater B, whose lower portion is formed or provided with a shoulder or rearward extension 62, against and to which rests and is secured a spring` 113, whose other end rests on a projection 64, on the upright b', which supports the repeater. As is clearly shown in the drawings, this repeater is of an irregular or cam shape in its front portion, when viewed from the side, and has said portion covered with buckskin 295, felt, or other soft material. The lower front portion of the repeater is formed with a forwardly-inclined portion b, with which the regulating-screw (L4 contacts. Above the said inclined portion b, and eX- tending rearwardly in the repeater, is a recess b7, for the reception and operation of the rear end of thehammer-shank. In the lower surface of the forwardly-extending,` portion b8 of the repeater, above the recess b7, are formed two angular depressions or recesses c and c', the former of which is really the upper corner of the recess 237, and in which the rear end of the hammer-shank normally lies. The recess or depression Ac' is forwardly located with respect to the recess c, and is for the reception of the rear end of the hammershank, when it is desired to quickly repeat the stroke on the string.

Adjustably secured to the upper rear portion of the key, by means of screws d, is a rocker D, in the upper part of whose Vertical portion D' is pivotally secured the hammershank C, whose rear portion is bent downwardly and then outwardly to eng'age the repeater. The front end of the shank C is provided With a hammer E, of felt or other suitable material, to strike the string E/ when it is desired to produce a note or sound. Above the string` E' is located a damper F, of the ordinary 01' any preferred construction,which is supported by means of a spring f, secured to a rail f', located above the strings. Depending from the .damper and extending through a guide-opening in the soundingl IOO board f2 is a wire or rod fg, which is adapted to contact with the damper-lifter button g, on the rod g', secnred vcrtically on the key A, near one side of the hannner-shank.

From the foregoing and by reference to the drawings it will be seen, and readily understood, that by pressing the 'front end of the key downwardly, by means of the finger II, it will cause its rear end to be raised and the screw C01 to contact with the forwardlyextending portion U* of the repeater, thns forcing the repeater rearwardly and allowing the rear end of the hammer-shank to engage the recess or depression o', when the f nrther depression of the front end of the key will cause the hammer to strike the string and at the same time raise the damper, by means of the lifter-bntton g, which will contact with the lower end of the rodf, which, as before stated, is secnred to the damper. By slightly diminishing the pressure on the front end of the key said end will be raised by reason of the weights or leads (L2, on the rear port-ion, nntil the key is in snbstantially a level position, at which time the rear end of the hammer-shank will remain in the forward reeess c', or depression, and will permit of repeated and very rapid strokes of the hammer against the string with the smallest degree of movement of the key, the spring 113 serving to press the repeater 13 fo1.'\vardly and to hold it in a vertical, yet yielding, position. As soon as the finger is removed from the key the rear portion, by reason of its gravity, will be lowered to the position shown in Fig. l of the drawings, which will allow the rear end of the hammer-shank to take its place in the reeess c of the repeater and the lower end of the hammer to rest on the piece of felt 7b, or other material, on the upper surface of the key. It is apparent that the rocker may be snitably adj nsted by means of the serews (Z, and that the serew af* may be extended or retracted to regnlate the action of the repeater on the rear portion of the hammer-'shank.

lIavin g th us fnlly deseribed my invention, what I claim as new, and. desire to seenre by Letters Patent, :is-

l.. In a piano-aetion, the combination with a key of a rockersecnred on its rear portion, a ham mer-shank pivotally socnred on said rocker and provided at its front end with a hammer, a spring-aetnated repeater pivotally seenred near the rear portion of the lieyanri having in its front surface recesses for the reception and operation of the rear end of the hammer-shanlc, snbstantiall y as describml.

2. A piano-action comprising a pivoted key, a rocker adjnstably seenred on its roar portion, a hammer-shank pivotally secnred onv said roeker and provided at its front end with a hannner, a springactnated repeater pivot ally secnred near the rear end of the key and having in its front portion reeesses to receive the rea-r end of the hammenshanlt, substantially as descrbed.

3. A piano-action, comprising a pivoted hey provided at its rear end with a regnlating screw, a roclcer adj nstabl y seenred on the real' portion of the key, a hammer-shank pivtaially secnred on said roclier and provided at its front end with a hannner, a springa'ictnated repeater pivotally secnred near the rear end of the key and having 'its lower front portion forwardly inclined and adapted to contact with the regnlatingscrew, and provided in its front part above said 'inclined portion with reeesses to receive the rear end of 'the haminer-shank, snbstantially as deseribcd.

4-. In a piano'aetion, the combination of the pivoted key A, having in its rear end the recess cr, and the regnlating-screw (z i, the roelcnr D, adjnstably socnred on. the hey, the hammer-shank (J, pivotally seenred on said .rocher and provided at its front end with a hammer, and an extension at its rear end, the springaetnated repeater B, having the reces: s (/7, c, and c', in its front portion, and the forwardly-inclined part b, in its lon'erpart, said repeater being pivotally sccnred on the real' part of the keyboard, the spri11g' snp1'n'l,ed damper F, located above the string and pro` vided with the depcnding red f, the red 5/, having the button g, adapted to contact with the rodff, and to raise the dainpcr, all censtrneted, arranged and Operating snbstam tially as shown and deseribed and for the purpose set forth.

CHARLES B. Sl'I'WElKAll'l".

Titnessesz .l'osnrn P. Sclnvmx, (1. F. Scnxvnnmnfr, Jr. 

